Chapter 2: Fallen from Grace
«Arclight»
That was his name.
No, not entirely.
It was a title, and a name.
Granted simply because he could no longer remember his original name after a very long time.
Originally, he was an ordinary boy.
Much like any other ordinary person, with nothing noteworthy about him.
In that sense, one could call him generic.
Yet such a generic boy was caught in a summoning to another world.
As a hero.
However, «Arclight», or now Niono never considered himself one.
To begin with,
In that world..
He had been summoned in the midst of an ongoing war between countless races.
At that time, humanity was just developing.
Yet, they suddenly found themselves in the midst of a helpless war against beings of such caliber.
After all, these were entities who could manipulate reality as they pleased.
Those were the enemies.
Beings who roamed the world with overwhelming, unstoppable power.
So what could an ordinary boy, with a single ability that appeared useless at first glance, possibly do?
Besides that, what was weirder was—
A hero-summoning ritual hadn't even been invented in this particular time period at all.
Which meant he wasn't brought over through any proper method meant to summon a hero.
In other words, he wasn't one at all.
Unfortunately, he just happened to be transported, or spirited away to that world.
Yet how long could he truly remain a bystander when beings that powerful existed?
Indirectly, they too also threatened his very survival.
So, what choice did he have other than to fight?
At first, it was merely to protect himself.
But the further he went, the more he came to the realization that..
The humans of that world were far weaker than even him.
Worse was that these people lacked the power to defend themselves.
But it wasn't as though humans were the target of that war. Not at all.
If anything, humanity was simply collateral damage in the scheme of things.
Thus, slowly…
«Arclight» began to fight for others too.
Still…
No matter how much he struggled—
There was no way he could stand against those beings.
Gods, demons, virtual beings, and foreign entities who were omnipotent and omniscient.
And ones who were nigh-omnipotent and nigh-omniscient.
But that inevitability would eventually lead him to his first encounter—
With the god of that world, Trinia.
Most especially, the absolute deity that ruled the world: Shallow Vernal.
Even after meeting the deity who could grant any wish possible.
He only made yet one wish.
It wasn't for fame, not for power.
But for the minor inconvenience called [Shiro's Grace].
Niono didn't want to grow stronger through a wish granted by another.
If he were to become stronger, it had to be on his own terms.
That conviction eventually earned him the name, «Arclight».
Enemy of all.
He fought against every race to prove a point for humanity's case.
In the end, he stood against the two strongest beings and fought them to a standstill.
But right now...
Such a hero was trembling over something as mundane as failing to find a job and shelter.
Perhaps it was his appearance.
Even so, someone like him could never lower himself to the point of stealing from others.
Regardless of that...
"Dammit!"
Niono clenched his fist as his whole body trembled, while his teeth ground together.
It wasn't frustration per se; it was the shock of realizing just how wrong he had been.
"…I can't believe my persuasion skills are this bad."
His face was drained of color.
No, calling it bad was being generous. They were downright awful.
Back in Trinia, things had been very different.
Nearly every human of that era knew the name «Arclight», and revered him as a heroic figure.
Thus, no one dared imitate his appearance.
And more than that.
Before he even finished asking for something.
Influential figures would already be moving to fulfill it.
Most times, even often before his sentence ended.
If this were Trinia, he wouldn't need to search for work or shelter.
Nobles and kings alike would have offered him mansions staffed with maids, all to gain his favor.
No questions asked.
"I can't believe that RGB goddess was actually right."
Aside from insulting his enemies.
He, rather, «Arclight» was utterly hopeless at social interaction.
Niono's shoulders sagged.
The fact that he had been more delusional than her.
…more than that so-called omnipotent RGB goddess stung him deeply.
Niono almost let a tear slip as he raised his gaze to the scorching sun above.
It was now afternoon.
His shoulders sagged as he walked through a commercial-style district.
The sidewalk had beautiful brick-paved sidewalks that stretched ahead.
Plants lined the edges, with railings behind them separating the express road.
The atmosphere felt different, carrying a faintly vintage air.
Almost like being thrown back into the early 2000s of his original world
Yet the buildings, traffic lights, sidewalks, and small parks.
Each of them seemed to contradict that impression he had.
Regardless, it didn't stop him.
Niono admired the scenery.
Momentarily, he lost himself in thought, trying to forget his situation.
Especially Trinia.
Right, he couldn't keep leaning on his former standing forever.
The past was the past.
But now that he thought about it, he was still pretty much bound to that world.
A peace treaty had been signed, with him standing on humanity's behalf.
It was written in certain clauses.
Especially the final clause—
A binding vow the world itself had made with him.
Should Trinia ever be threatened, he would be summoned to save it.
Just as Niono straightened with a stretch of his arm, he blinked.
A figure rushed past him, with shoes clicking against the brick roads.
…just as she passed.
Another figure walked by calmly, prompting him to tilt his head slightly.
'Oi, oi… what the hell..?'
'Are humans truly so weak that beings like these dare to walk around so openly?'
Niono tilted his head, still staring ahead.
But at that moment, his thoughts finally caught up to him…
The world around him dulled to gray.
Everything till even people around him lost their colors.
But that wasn't the focus.
Rather, it was the small, white, flame-like lights that burned within each person.
It was the proof of essence.
Humans, no matter how vile, always carried that particular color.
Shiro did say it had something to do with them naturally being blank.
Representing endless potential or something.
And although darkness might stain their color, some small white always remained.
Essence.
Or so Shiro called it.
But the one in front of him now had a pitch-black burning flame.
Niono's lips slowly thinned.
'…ah. Now that I think about it, yesterday's one was dyed red.'
It's roughly the same pattern.
Niono concluded.
He didn't voice it, but the thought alone caused a faint change of expression.
Slowly, color returned to the world as everything resumed its place.
By then, Niono had already positioned himself just behind his target.
It was a tall man, wearing a long trench coat, trousers, and a fedora.
He blended effortlessly among the crowd, which only deepened Niono's curiosity.
And so, he followed.
The reason he'd been surprised was actually very valid, by the way.
Most supernatural entities either resided in the Divine Realm or the Human Realm.
But sometimes,
The Human Realm happens to be affected due to the inevitability of war.
But here, it seems different?
Niono couldn't quite put his finger on it.
Still, judging by the pitch black and the aura emanating from him,
He had a slightly off feeling about this person.
Just as that thought crossed his mind, however—
"Target found."
Niono paused upon hearing the man suddenly speak out to himself.
Peeking past the edge of the trench coat, he looked ahead.
It was the earlier woman that originally passed by him.
She was dressed in a suit, short matching skirt, stockings, and all.
It was the standard corporate wear, no doubt, of an office worker.
'…mm, a familiar outfit I haven't seen in a while.'
'I tried making Chronois wear something like that Shiro made, but… again, a failure.'
Niono and Chronosis were like oil and water.
More often than not, the latter ended up frustrated with the former.
If it wasn't about her small chest.
Then..
It was about how this supposedly all-powerful god couldn't lay a finger on a mere human like him.
The slander got so good it eventually reached the council of gods.
And those deities too joined in on the slander just because it was funny.
Just the mention of "board"...
Was enough to send several female deities into fits of laughter.
But jokes aside.
'It seems his intentions are no good, which is just great.'
Niono thought.
And in that instant, he seemingly vanished from behind the fedora-wearing man.
Then, he appeared directly in front of the woman, colliding with her.
"Eeek!"
"Nngh."
Both staggered back slightly, though on Niono's part, it was clearly exaggerated.
He slowly opened his eyes, stretching his hands toward her.
"Ma'am, are you alright…? Sorry, I bumped into you."
The woman wavered, raising a hand as her vision cleared.
And when she saw him—
"Uhm… I'm okay. Don't worry."
She withdrew her hand, composed herself, before waltzing away without looking back.
Niono stared in front of him for a moment before looking down.
He extended his hand to see a light brown and dark trousers.
The isekai standard edition made courtesy of Shiro-chan~☆
And…
Wrapped in tatters, gifted to him—ahem, well, found on the floor on his first day.
Yeah.
His whole outfit screamed—
I'M A BEGGAR!
A tear escaped Niono's right eye, as a small depreciating smile crossed his features.
'Kill me.'
Even so, he let it go and slowly raised his head.
His eyes met those of the man, who was barely containing his rage.
Niono tapped the soles of his worn boots against the ground twice, hands on his hips.
Then he leaned forward slightly.
"You're doing a terrible job hiding your bloodlust, filth."
He lifted his chin condescendingly.
"Your gaze irritates me."
Having faced countless beings who looked down on the world from their almighty thrones.
Niono had come to grow particularly sick of that attitude.
Especially to the point of developing a counter-attitude of his own.
"Hmph."
But, all Niono received in response was a faint huff of displeasure.
Then, he grabbed his fedora hat, patting it a few times.
His actions however, gave Niono a glimpse of what he actually looked like.
"Very strange I dare say, a cockroach capable of detecting my kind. So, yesterday.. it was you?"
His dark blue eyes then narrowed.
"Regardless, to think a weakling like you is behind it, I'm appalled beyond belief."
They were still in the middle of a road while doing this.
Yet for some reason, passersby walked around them without a second glance.
Niono's fingers twitched.
Then, he straightened and shrugged.
"What a pity… now I regret stopping you. I missed a big chance."
"Keep talking big, human. I'll remember you."
The man walked past him as black filled his vision for a moment.
It wasn't just black.
Rather, a feather?
And it wasn't just one.
Several of them fell from the sky as though a bird were shedding them.
Niono's lips curled.
Then he turned.
'An angel… no, a fallen, huh? Trinia didn't have races like that, if I remember correctly.'
He recalled demons, aliens, vampires, werewolves, those kinds of beings.
And many others besides.
But angels and fallen angels had never been part of that world's mythos.
Even when he had asked, Shiro had only tilted her head in confusion.
But that was beside the point.
'...ahh, I did it again.'
Niono placed his hand on his head, shaking it with frustration.
'Ugh, I instinctively jumped into action.'
Because this world carried a sensation similar to Trinia.
Probably due to the supernatural factors of this world.
He jumped in instinctively.
Placing both hands behind his head, Niono gazed in the direction the fallen had gone.
While he could have fought him right there.
It was probably not a good idea due to being in the midst of a place like this.
Niono wasn't an unreasonable person.
Still, he could have waited and kept on monitoring the fallen.
Right, that was probably the best course of action, but he blew it.
Yet as he thought about it now.
He slowly turned to the front, fixing his gaze on the place they left towards.
'Fine then, guess I should push myself a little harder today.'